Robert I. Grossman, who recently retired as chief executive officer and dean of NYU Langone Health, reflected on his journey from a modest upbringing in The Bronx to leading one of the nation’s top academic medical centers. Grossman’s tenure saw significant growth at NYU Langone, which is now recognized for its quality and patient safety. According to Vizient, the institution has been ranked as the top comprehensive academic medical center in the United States for four consecutive years.
Grossman began working at a young age to help support his family and continued this ethic throughout his education. He noted: “I was a scholarship kid through college and medical school. I was living at the margin, always trying to figure out how to stretch a dollar. I understood what students go through, trying to make ends meet. For me, tuition-free was a no brainer. I thought it was a moral imperative, that we couldn’t keep having students with significant debt. It was actually interfering with their life and the lives of their family.”
Under Grossman’s leadership since 2007, NYU Langone expanded from two inpatient locations and three outpatient facilities to seven inpatient locations and over 320 outpatient sites by 2025. During this period, annual revenue increased from $2 billion to $15.5 billion.
Alec C. Kimmelman succeeds Grossman as CEO and dean after serving as director of the Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center since 2016.
Grossman recounted early doubts during medical school due to differences in background with classmates but persisted through internships and residencies at institutions including Beth Israel Hospital in Boston and University of Pennsylvania’s School of Medicine.
He described several major crises faced during his tenure: “Every time,” he said about these challenges—including the financial crisis of 2008, Superstorm Sandy in 2012 which forced evacuation and closure of facilities for months, a fire at Kimmel Pavilion in 2018, and the COVID-19 pandemic—“it showed the resilience of our great institution and its people. We emerged stronger.”
The health system grew significantly under Grossman’s guidance: it now employs more than 53,000 people (including approximately 6,000 physicians) across hundreds of specialties; ambulatory visits have grown from around 600,000 annually in 2007 to over 12 million by August 2025; clinical trials rose from fewer than 250 to more than 1,400.
Grossman also led several changes in medical education at NYU Langone:
– In 2010 he introduced C21 (Curriculum for the 21st Century), giving students earlier patient interaction.
– In 2013 he oversaw creation of an accelerated three-year MD program.
– In August 2018 NYU became the first top-ranked U.S. medical school to offer full-tuition scholarships for all current and future MD students.
Grossman attributed much institutional success to teamwork: “You have to be able to execute the vision…holding people accountable…and driving excellence throughout the system.” He emphasized continuous improvement: “We focus on quality, safety, and excellence…We’re not perfect, so we have to continuously improve.”
Philanthropy played a key role during his administration; Ken Langone’s support led to renaming of both NYU Langone Health (in recognition) in 2017 and later naming schools after Grossman himself.
NYU Grossman School of Medicine currently ranks first nationally by NIH dollars per investigator; its students hold some of the highest GPAs/MCAT scores among U.S. med schools; research funding exceeds $490 million according to Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research data.
Looking back on changes met with initial resistance within NYU Langone’s community during reforms at both hospital system and med school levels—a process that ultimately attracted new talent—Grossman observed: “But then it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy…And we were able to attract unbelievably talented clinicians…The result…is an amazing medical center…Everybody comes to work and thinks they’re at number one health system…That’s pretty amazing.”
He concluded by stressing vigilance against complacency even after reaching such heights.
